Meet the authors of 'One Step Away', the memoir about Motown backup singers The Andantes, with Louvain Demps and Paul Milliken.
Louvain Demps and Paul Milliken will be in conversation at McElreath Hall on Wednesday, December 9, at 7 PM. The talk grows out of One Step Away, the memoir Demps wrote with Milliken, which tells the story of The Andantes: the trio of Black backup singers — Marlene Barrow, Jackie Hicks and Louvain Demps — who sang on almost every major Motown hit of the 1960s and early 1970s. That includes Grammy Hall of Fame inductees "Stop! In The Name of Love" and "Reach Out I'll Be There."
Within Motown, they were known as the "clean-up girls." They recorded vocals for thousands of songs and racked up as many Billboard hits as Elvis, Mariah Carey and Beyoncé, yet they were often paid just $10 a session, denied credit and excluded from history. One Step Away works to restore them to their rightful place in American music.
Demps has lived in Metro Atlanta since 1973. She was a featured performer in the 2005 PBS special Motown: The Early Years and was inducted into the National Rhythm & Blues Museum Hall of Fame in 2014. The conversation brings her story home to the city she's called home for over five decades.
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Tickets are $12 for non-members, $6 for members, and free for Insiders. The talk is at McElreath Hall, 130 W Paces Ferry Road, Atlanta, GA 30305, starting at 7 PM on Wednesday, December 9.
